Faraday Future (FF) has been struggling since its IPO, facing poor sales and deep losses, keeping its stock price low. Recently, its founder and Chief Product and User Ecology Officer, Jia Yueting, made a big announcement, causing a sharp increase in the stock price. However, in the first half of the year, FF incurred a net loss of $1.1 billion and only sold two cars.
On the evening of September 4th Beijing time, Faraday Future’s stock price skyrocketed after opening, surging more than 80%.
Jia Yueting has been active on Weibo recently, announcing that the “FF China-U.S. Automotive Industry Bridge Strategy and Second Brand Launch Conference” will be held on September 19, where more information and execution plans will be shared. On September 4, a survey activity was initiated, inviting participation to collectively create a popular model that meets the needs of the American market.
According to the Daily Economic News, Jia Yueting stated that Faraday Future aims to advance the development of its new brand by fostering global creativity and technology through an open innovation model. This strategy not only enhances the brand’s market competitiveness but also signifies the company’s utilization of cutting-edge technological achievements, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, to provide users with smarter and more efficient travel solutions.
Jia Yueting also mentioned plans to introduce Chinese cars to American users through FF’s value empowerment next year.
Established in May 2014, Faraday Future has been in operation for 10 years. During this time, the company has faced financial strains, salary reductions, employee layoffs, and rent arrears issues. The production launch of its only model, FF 91, has been repeatedly delayed.
As part of Jia Yueting’s strategy, Faraday Future aims to compete with traditional super luxury brands. He mentioned that in the future, their user profile should be similar in scale to brands like Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Bentley, and Maybach, with a total annual sales volume of 55,000 vehicles.
However, the performance of the FF 91 in the market has not met Jia Yueting’s expectations, with Faraday Future selling only 13 units in its 10-year history. Since the official delivery began in August 2023, the FF 91 sold only four new cars that year, with another six cars leased externally.
In the first half of 2024, Faraday Future delivered only two new cars. Just a day before the release of the second-quarter financial report, the company finally delivered the third new car of the year to Gao Wei, responsible for global communications and community sales at Faraday Future. Selling cars to employees is not a sustainable solution for the company; therefore, it still needs to find steady funding sources to support its long-term operations.
Since its IPO, Faraday Future has been struggling with low sales, deep losses, and a stagnant stock price. Additionally, its failure to timely submit financial reports has repeatedly put it at risk of delisting.
On April 24, the Nasdaq Stock Market warned that if Faraday Future’s closing price continues to be at or below $0.10 for ten consecutive trading days, the company’s listing qualification will be revoked. Jia Yueting has been using his personal Weibo account to try to salvage Faraday Future.
On May 29, Jia Yueting announced that the Nasdaq Stock Market had approved Faraday Future’s application to continue trading. He mentioned that the management never stopped seeking sources to support the company’s development.
In the second quarter of this year, Faraday Future raised approximately $15.5 million through convertible bond financing. However, for a company that records annual losses of billions of dollars, this amount is still insufficient.
Regarding the concerns of netizens about debt repayment and his return to China, Jia Yueting stated that he has already repaid over $10 billion in debt over the years, and there are no outstanding debts under the U.S. legal system.
“The day when I succeed in car manufacturing and repay my debts is the day I return to my home country,” Jia Yueting emphasized.
However, according to third-party platforms, the amount that Jia Yueting has failed to fulfill in this case exceeds 10 billion yuan. Therefore, his journey back to China may still be a long one.